1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a driver's knee protector which is disposed at a lower portion of a steering column of an automotive vehicle so as to be opposite to driver's knees, and more particularly to a knee protector which protect driver's knees in the event of a serious vehicle collision.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that automotive vehicles are usually provided with knee protectors each of which is disposed around the steering column so as to protect the driver's knees in the event of a vehicle serious collision.
One of typical knee protectors is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 58-150552. This protector device includes a base plate made of metal which is connected to a steering column. A protector plate for absorbing the impact force by collision is connected to the base plate to have a space therebetween. When the driver's knee hits the protector plate in the event of a serious vehicle collision, the driver's knee is protected by the protector device since the impact force by collision is absorbed in the protector device in a manner that the protector plate is plastically deformed toward the base plate.
However, it is difficult that the knee protector sufficiently absorbs the impact force by the collision with one protector plate since the knee protector is restricted in size.